The Last Speakers

David Harrison with Panau speakers in Papua New Guinea

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By 2100, half of the 7,000 languages spoken on Earth—many not yet recorded—may disappear. As head of National Geographic’s Enduring Voices Project, Swarthmore linguistics professor K. David Harrison documents endangered languages and their associated culture, history, and environment. Harrison’s new National Geographic book The Last Speakers: The Quest to Save the World’s Most Endangered Languages chronicles his expeditions around the world. Spend an evening with him as he shares the eloquent reflections of individuals who know they may indeed be the last people on Earth to speak their languages.